In the preamble of the suit, which also names the show's producer, Chuck Lorre, as a co-defendant, Sheen's lawyer writes: "Chuck Lorre, one of the richest men in television who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, believes himself to be so wealthy and powerful that he can unilaterally decide to take money away from the dedicated cast and crew of the popular television series, Two and a Half Men, in order to serve his own ego and self-interest, and make the star of the Series the scapegoat for Lorre's own conduct."

The suit, filed in Los Angeles superior court, claims Lorre and Warner Bros "were able to generate more than a billion dollars" from the show. Lawyer Marty Singer alleges its cancellation was due to "Warner Bros capitulating to Lorre's egotistical desire to punish Mr Sheen".

Singer also alleges there was a conspiracy between Lorre and Warner Bros to blame Sheen for the cancellation.

The lawyer alleges the decision to cancel the eight episodes was made before Sheen criticised Lorre, because Lorre allegedly wanted to quit the sitcom so he could work on his other shows – and because he hated Sheen.

The suit notes that Warner Bros TV was "quite happy" to employ Sheen and to sign him to a new contract last year while he faced a criminal charge of assault against his ex-wife and was in rehab for substance abuse. Sheen eventually pleaded guilty to assault and served probation.

Singer also claims Sheen was fired when he was sick, which is a violation of California and Federal law.

Sheen was fired on Monday after a week-long media circus in which he rejected requests by the studio to enter rehabilitation.

Instead, the actor embarked on a series of outlandish interviews in which he denounced his employers, offered blood and urine samples for drug tests, and produced a string of bombastic soundbites.

On Thursday, he Tweeted: "Torpedo away... You corporate Trolls were warned. And now you've been served!"

Sheen maintains that his contract with Warner Bros has no "morals clause", allowing the network to replace or sack him for bad behaviour. But Warner Bros has suggested that his conduct constitutes a breach of the deal.

In a letter to Sheen's lawyer on Monday, Warner Bros said: "Your client has been engaged in dangerously self-destructive conduct and appears to be very ill."

The letter added that in recent months Sheen had been forgetting his lines, turning up late, missing rehearsals and making "comments poisoning key working relationships".

Warner Brothers and CBS stand to lose as much as $250m (£154m) in revenue from the sitcom's cancellation

Under his current contract Sheen would have received around $1.5m-2m per episode, depending on syndication and repeat fees.